Spindle jaw and blank cooling apparatus



Oct. 21, 1941. E. H. BENNETT SPINDLE JAW AND BLANK COOLING APPARATUS s heats-sheet 1 Filed Jan. 11, 1939 E. H, BENNETT Filed Jan. 11, 1959 Oct. 21, 1941.

SPINDLE JAw AND BLANK'coolQING vAPPARATUS Oct 21, 1941 E. H; BENNETT SPINDLE ,JAW AND BLANK COOLING APPARATUS Filed Jan. ll, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet- 3 mum.

1 mn w e A M Em \IQN Patented Oct. 21, 1941 ,j f

ha @UNITED- STT-E'SM @OFFICE i Y n 2,259,991'2 f A SPINDLE .JAW AND BLANK oo-oIJING c APPARATUS l p l Edward H. Bennett, Toledo,"Ohionassignorl toy Libbey Glass Company, a corporationy of -Ohio Application January 11, 1939,;-Seiiial No. `250,430 l v v 8 Claims.

The present invention-relates to `apparatus for cooling the spindle jaws and controlling the development of the blanks positioned 'on the spindles of an automatic glassware forming machine during the operation thereof.

In a well known type of rotary glassware blowing machine, a 'gathering ram projects an i-nverted gathering mold into'a glass furnace in contact with the surface ofl a pool of molten glass and by means of suction draws a charge of .glass into the mold.V The mold is lifted and withdrawn from the furnace, the surplus glass being cut oi from the lower end of the'charge and dropped back into the pool. The glass blank is then -dropped onto the upper end of a spindle which is .rotatable about its longitudinal axis and which may be inverted end for end;A The spindle is provided withl jaws for gripping the bottom end of the blank and; for expanding 4orA blowing the blank to the desired form. During the inverting operation the` blank is partially developed in the openair by the application thereto of ka series of puffs of air under pressure which expands the same. After the spindle and blank thereon are inverted so that 'the blank v is suspended from the lower end ofthe spindle, the blank isenclosed .in a blowing mold and vsubjected to the influence of air under pressure which together give the blank the desired form, n

In machines of the type set forth above, in Van effort to control the open air development of the blank, .it has been customary to direct a current of coolingr air against the spindle and another current of air against the partially developed blank after the spindle and blank have become inverted. This has been accomplished by thev provision of a pair of relatively stationary air manifolds, one of which is located at the level which the spindle jaws assume when the spindle is inverted, and the other of which is located in a slightly lower plane sok that when the spindie and partially developed blank become -inverted, cooling air issuing from one manifold is directed/*against the jaws and cool-ing` air `issuing from the other manifold is directed against cooling .air to .both the spindlev jaws and the' blank supported on the spindle during the entire,

period of'open air development of the blankv while the spindle and blank are becoming inverted; Toward these ends, the ymanifolds provided for the purpose of applying cooling air to the spindle jaws and blank arev movable with the latter andin register therewith during the inverting of the same. Furthermore, after 'the spindle and blank have `become inverted and -tiltingmovement thereof has ceased, the manifolds remain relatively stationaryv with respect thereto in lorderthat'cooling air may continue to be applied to the spindle jaws during expansion of the blan-k.to nal form :inthe -finishing mold. In this manner, development of the blank may be accurately controlled while at the same time adeduate cooling of the spindle jaws throughout each -cycle offmachine operationis assured.

It is another object of the invention to ,provide s uch amachine which is extremely flexible; in i-tsL operation and vin which the application of blowing air to either thespindle jaws or the blank may be varied to :sui-t theindividual requirements ofv the `machine or of the articles undergoing formation. 1

Other-objects of Vthe inventionfnot at Vthis time enumerated',I will become apparent as the nature of* Athe sainer is better understood.

` In the accompanying dra-wings: Fig. 1 is a fragmentarytop plan View, partly i-nl section, of one mold head of a glassware forming machine vembodying the principles of the present invention; Y V

2 is a vertical central sectional view taken through the moldhead ofV Fig. l;

, .Fig.;3 is `a sectional elevational view taken sub- Stantiallyalong the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

A .-Fig. Ll is a sectional elevational View taken substantially alongthe line .4-4 of Fig. 1. l

Fig. 5is Aa vertical :sectional view taken through a portion of one side of Aa machine illustrating one of. the heads-and the driving mechanism for impartingmotion to the rotary-carriage.

Fig. 6.isl a fragmentary plan view showing two of the annular series of spindles.

`Referring :now tothe drawings` and particularly to Figs 1 and V2, av single mold head of a multiple head rotary `form-ing machine is disclosed.y v The forming machine includes -a centralvxed frame for support 9 (Fig. 2) on which there is rotatably mounted .an .annular frame struct-ure or carriage lll carrying a plurality of spindles VI IV (only-one being shown for the purposevof illustration) which are positioned at spaced intervals about the vcircumference of .the carriage.l The mold carriage l0 ,may well 'be' for oscillating movement by means of Vantifric-4 tion bearings I8 in a housing I9 forming a part of the carriage I0. A lock nut I1a holds the bearing unit assembled. The frame I2, housing I3 and spindle I I are tiltable as a unit on 'Y the carriage I6 from the upright position of theV y spindle II as illustrated, to an inverted position.

An axially shiftable sleeve 29 extends through the hub I1 and a rotatable horizontal shaft 2I is mounted within the sleeve 29. Rotary motion of the shaft 2| is transmitted through a train of gearing 22, 23, 24 and 25 to the spindle II. The spindle II is axially slidable in the frame I2 in the usual manner and sliding movement thereof is controlled by axial shifting of the sleeve on the shaft 2|. Toward this end, the sleeve is connected at 26 to one end of a bell crank lever 21, the other end of the lever being connected to the spindle as at 28.

The upright spindle II is adapted to receive on the upper end thereof the blank B and is provided with a pair of jaws 29 which are clamped together over the rim or flange of the blank to securely hold the blank in position on the end of the spindle.

In order to tilt the frame I2 and invert the spindle II, the hub I1 is formed with a series of gear teeth 3| thereon which mesh with a reciprocable rack 32, the driving mechanism for which has associated therewith a shock absorbing device 33. This rack 32 (Fig. 2) which is attached to the lower side of the shock absorbing device 33 (Figs. 1 and 2) is reciprocated by means including a link 33a, bell crank lever 33h, and cam roll 33c which runs in a cam 33d.

` The non-rotatable housing I9 is formed with a face flange 34 which abuts against the circular ring I6 and which is coaxial and substantially coextensive therewith. Blowing air for both the open air development of the blank and for expansion of the blank in the finishing mold is conducted to the spindle through a pipe 35 ,mounted in the relatively stationary portion of the machine and through a pipe 36 associated with the tiltable portion thereof.

The arrangement of parts thus far described is more or less conventional and no claim is made herein to any novelty associated therewith, the novelty of the present invention residing rather in the mechanism for supplying cooling air to cool the blank and the spindle jaws and which will now be more fully described.

Air designed for cooling the blank and spindle jaws is conducted upwardly through a co1- umn 40 (Figs. 1 and 3) and enters the small end of a funnel-shaped wind-box 4I, bolted as at 42 to the face iiange 34. A partition 39 in the wind-box 4I divides the same into two compartments 43 and 44 which register respectively with openings 45 and 46 formed in the face ilange 34. The openings 45 and 46 are spaced apart radially in the face iiange 34 and the outer opening 45 communicates with the circular groove or recess 59 while the inner opening 46 communicates with a groove 5I concentric with and inwardly from the former groove. Openings or passages 52 and 53 in the tiltable circular plate I6 communicate with the grooves and 5I respectively and a twin manifold or nozzle 54 having inner and outer passages 56 and 55 respectively therein is secured to the plate I6 in such a manner that the passage 55 communicates with the opening 52 while the passage 56 communicates with the opening 53. Ihe exhaust end of the passage 55 is situated directly behind the spindle jaws 29. Thus it will be seen that cooling air leaving the passages 55 and 56 of the manifold 54 will be directed against the blank and against the jaws respectively.

` A manually operable damper or throttle valve 51k located in the passage 55 regulates the volume of air ejected from the latter.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, means is provided for automatically controlling the passage of cooling air through the passages of the manifold 54 and toward this end, a pair of damper valves 58 and 59 are pivoted as at 60 to the wall of the wind-box A4I and are adapted to extend across the compartments 43 and 44 thereof as shown in Fig; 1 to preclude the passage of air therethrough. The valves 58 and 59 together with the mechanisms for operating the same are substantially indentical in constructiony and Vtherefore a description of one will sufce for the other. The valve 59 is connected through a pair of links 48, 49 to one end of a bell crank lever 6I, pivoted at 62 to a bracket 63 formed on the wind-box 4I. The other end ofthe bell crank lever 6I carries a cam roller 64 designed for engagement with a circular cam track 65 which'is mounted on and surrounds the stationary column 9 of the machine. A finger 69 formed on the link 48 is designed for engagement with a limit pin 10 to determine the maximum extent of opening of the valve 59. The cam roller 64aL which controls the operation of the valve 58 is 'designed for engagement with a similar cam track 61falso mounted on and surrounding the central column 9.

The cam tracks 65 and 61 are each formed with one or more'recesses 68 therein which may be of suflicient depth to allow the valves 58 and 59 to become completely openedv to allow cooling air vto pass unobstructed through the passages 55 and 56 of the manifold 54. Alternatively, one or more of the recesses 68 maybe comparatively shallow so as to effect only partialopening of either valve, the depth of the recesses being determined according to varying engineering exigencies existing in connection with the type of ware undergoing formation. Generally, however, the character and location of the recesses 68 is such that cooling air is supplied through the passage 55 of the manifold 54 to cool the blank immediately after the latter has been deposited on the upper end of the spindle and is shut off completely immediately prior to enclosure of the blank in the nishing mold. Thus cooling air is supplied to the blank during inverting of thespindle and while open air development of the blank is taking place. If desired, however, such cooling air may continue to be directed against the blank when the latter is enclosed inthe finishing mold to cool the projecting neck portion thereof immediately below the jaws 29 which is exposed during the final blowing operation. Cooling air is supplied through thepassage 56 to cool the jaws 29 immediately after the blank has been placed on the spindle II and is continued until the finished articles are discharged from the machine and immediately prior to operation of the gathering ramin theA melting tank. The volume of such cooling air impinging on the jaws 29 may be varied, however, by varying the character of the recesses 68 in the upper cam track 65.

Modiicaticns may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

-I claim: n

1. In a rotary glassware forming apparatus, a rotatable carriage, a plurality of spindle assemblies positioned at spaced intervals on the carriage, each assembly including a frame mounted for tilting movement through a predetermined angle, a spindle carried by each frame, means at one end of each spindle for gripping and maintaining against dislodgment a glass blank, and means mounted on the frame and movable therewith during tilting movement of the latter for directing a jet of cooling air against the exterior of the blank supported on the spindle, said frame having a continuous passageway providing constant communication between a source of supply of air and the "jet directing means. i

2. In a rotary glassware forming apparatus, a rotatable carriage, a plurality of spindle assemblies positioned .at spaced intervals on the carriage, each assembly including a frame mounted for tilting movement through a predetermined angle, a spindle carried by each frame, means at one end of each spindle for gripping and maintaining a glass blank placed upon the spindle against dislodgment, and means mounted on the frame and movable therewith during tilting movement of the latter for directing a jet of cooling air against the exterior of said gripping means and blank, said frame having a continuous passageway providing constant communicationV between a source of supply of air and the jet directing means.

3. In a rotary glassware forming machine, a rotatable carriage, a plurality of spindle assemblies positioned at spaced intervals on the carriage, each assembly including a frame mounted for tilting movement through a predetermined angle, a spindle carried by each frame, means at one end of each spindle for gripping and maintaining a glass blank placed upon the spindle against dislodgment, and means mounted on the frame andY movable therewith during tilting movement of the latter for directing a jet of cooling air against the exterior of said gripping means and a separate jet of air against the exterior of the blank supported on the spindle, said frame having a continuous passageway providing constant communication between a source of supply of air and the jetdirecting means.

4. In a rotary glassware forming machine, a rotatable carriage, a plurality of spindle assemblies positioned at spaced intervals on the carriage, each assembly including a frame mounted for tilting movement through a predetermined angle, a spindle carried by each frame, means at Cir ing constant communication between a source of supply of air and the jet directing means,

5. In a rotary glassware forming machine, a

rotatable carriage, a plurality of spindle assemblies positioned at spaced intervals on the carriage, each assembly including a frame mounted for tilting movement through a predetermined angle, a spindle carried by each frame, jaws at one end of each spindle for gripping and maintaining a glass blank placed upon the spindle against dislodgment, a nozzle mounted on the frame and movable therewith for directing a jet of cooling air againstl the exterior oi the blank supported on the spindle, a second nozzle mounted on the frame and movable therewith for directing a jet of cooling air against the exterior of said jaws, and means for regulating the volume of air supplied by one of said nozzles, said frame having a continuous passageway providing constant communication between the nozzles and a source of supply `of cooling air.

6. In a rotary glassware forming machine, a

.rotatable carriage, a plurality of spindle assemblies positioned at spaced intervals on the carriage, each assembly including a face iiange having an annular groove formed therein, a

wind-box secured to the ange and communicating with said groove, a frame mounted on the carriage for tilting movement through an angle of one hundred and eighty degrees, said frame including a plate which is substantially coextensive with the face flange, there being an opening extending through the plate in communication with the groove in all positions of the frame, and a nozzle secured to the frame and having communication with the opening.

'7. In a rotary glassware forming machine, a rotatable carriage, a plurality of spindle assemblies positioned at spaced intervals on the carriage, each assembly including a face ange having a pair of concentric annular grooves therein, a wind-box secured to the face ange and communicating with each of said grooves, a frame mounted on the carriage for tilting movement through an angle of one hundred and eighty degrees, said frame including a plate which is substantially coextensive with the face iiange, there being an opening extending through the plate in communication with each groove in all positions of the frame, and nozzles secured to the frame and having communication with said openings.

8. In a glassware forming machine, a rotatable carriage, a plurality of spindle assemblies positioned at spaced intervals on the carriage, each assembly including a face iiange having a pair of concentric annular grooves therein, a windbox secured to the face ange, a partition dividing the wind-box into two compartments, means establishing communication between each compartment and one of the grooves, a valve in one of the compartments for restricting the iiow of air therethrough, means operableupon rotation of the carriage for opening and closing the valve at predetermined intervals, said frame including a plate which is substantially coextensive with the face flange, there being an opening extending through the plate in communication with each groove, and nozzles secured to the frame in communication with the openings.

EDWARD I-I. BENNETT. 

